Greater-alarm fire, roof collapse destroys south LA church facility

SOUTH LOS ANGELES, Calif. (FOX 11 / CNS) - Firefighters Monday battled a greater-alarm fire in a three-story building formerly housing a church in the Vermont Knolls area of South Los Angeles.

The blaze was reported about 5:15 a.m. in the 8300 block of South Hoover Street, Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department said. No injuries were reported.

An estimated 125 firefighters went into a defensive mode to drown the flames with heavy streams of water from the outside of the building to prevent the flames from spreading to surrounding structures.

The fire was extinguished at about 7 a.m., but firefighters continued pouring water on the remaining flames, authorities said.

According to reports from the scene, the building housed a transitional living facility for the homeless.